Submission
by RisemboolRanger
Summary: Drabble (Flash Fiction Project). Cleo's always had a strong bond with animals, so she takes it quite personally when Charlie's latest pet project isn't too keen on her. But with dragons, she learns that it's not about like or dislike; dominant or submissive - they simply require a mutual respect. Charlie/OC


"Careful; he really doesn't like that."

Cleo stared in bewilderment. "I'm just standing here. What doesn't he like about it?"

"He doesn't know you and you're too close to his personal space," Charlie explained simply.

The dragon in question snorted a small jet of flame at her in agreement. Cleo hastily backed up, but he still managed to scorch the hem of her jeans. She pulled the wand out of her pocket. "Aguamenti!" A thin stream of water doused the blackened fabric, eliminating the smell of burning that had attempted to assault her nostrils.

"See?" Charlie smiled, amused.

It was definitely a first for Cleo. She'd always been a magnet for animals and, in turn, always had a good connection with them - certainly more than she did with most people. Dragons weren't usually an exception to that. Just this one in particular. She knew she shouldn't take personal offence to that, as Charlie had already explained that the young reptile was in the dragon form of 'puberty' - he was too old to instinctively trust anyone around who attempted to take care of him, but young enough that he was in his rebellious phase. Yet that still didn't explain why Charlie could get so close to him without getting singed.

Cleo said as much out loud, trying and failing to not sound sulky about it. Charlie laughed. "Dragons are like any other creature - they require their own form of handling. I've just had more experience." He shook back his loose sleeves to make his point, revealing sun-bronzed skin that was interrupted by long scars and fading burns. "I wasn't exactly born with these."

"Okay, okay, I'll try not to take it personally," Cleo conceded.

"Give it some time and I'm sure Spot will trust you too," Charlie assured.

Cleo raised her eyebrows. "Spot?" The terrifyingly pure white dragon in front of her - one step away from being albino, if not for the amber eyes - didn't have a blemish on him.

"That's what the dragonologists started calling him. Apparently, when they found him, he had a red spot below one eye. But by the time he'd let anyone close enough to see, it had gone." Charlie grinned. "It was probably just part of whatever he'd been eating at the time."

Spot's preferred diet happened to be rats and the occasional stray cat. Cleo tried not to think of her beloved kitty, Tish, back home. "Lovely."

Charlie knelt down in front of Spot, much closer than Cleo was, and slowly reached out a hand. Spot bared still-growing teeth at him, which made Cleo feel a little better. Charlie didn't back down though - instead he inched his hand further, gradually, giving Spot time to get used to the breach of his personal space. Though he still seemed on the brink of snarling, Spot allowed Charlie to lay a hand on his head, once he finally got close enough. Charlie didn't pat or stroke him; he just laid his hand against the warm scales. Thanks to the fire that ran through their insides, dragons were the only warm-blooded reptile in existence.

Spot closed his eyes lazily and snorted again, though this time, only steam escaped his nostrils. Cleo watched, impressed, as he bowed his head down so that he was at eye level with Charlie and blinked amber eyes at him, now appearing more bored than threatened.

"Wow. You've got him wrapped around your little finger," she commented.

Charlie chuckled. "Not at all. Dragons were never meant to be owned or tamed or ruled by people. They can never be pets. Meeting you at your level is just their way of showing a mutual respect - you'll never get submission from a dragon." He attached a coloured clip to the nub of Spot's wing. It was a system they used to account for the recent, surprising rise of young dragons. "Any creature should only submit to their own kind. That's how nature's supposed to work." He straightened up and grinned. "Like how you finally submitted to me."

Charlie was very easygoing and one of the most laidback people that Cleo had ever met, though every now and then he'd show some of, what she'd learnt from meeting the rest of his family - particularly his younger brothers - was the roguish Weasley charm. "Yeah, right," she laughed. "From what I remember, it was the other way round. Your mom practically cried with joy when you brought me home."

People had always poked fun at how she preferred animals to humans, but it was nothing compared to Charlie and his love for fire-breathing reptiles. Apparently, Cleo was the first person to have been able to distract Charlie even a little away from his lifelong passion of chasing after dragons. Mrs. Weasley loved her for that. She'd sang her praises from the very first day she'd visited them at their family home.

That had certainly been an interesting day. As if his mother almost bursting into tears hadn't been enough, when she'd turned up, Charlie's younger twin brothers had promptly swapped money over the table with their eldest sibling, Bill. Cleo had later learnt that they'd been taking bets over Charlie's... preferences. One of the twins - she could never tell which - had said he'd expected Charlie's interests to lie outside of girls and the other had hinted at something even more disturbing. Cleo was glad to have proved them wrong. At least Bill seemed to have faith in Charlie's interest in dragons being on a scientific basis only.

Charlie grinned again. "She just thought it was so nice of me to take pity on some weird, scrawny little Ravenclaw..."

Cleo elbowed him in the ribs, though playfully. "Please. You're lucky to have me."

Charlie stopped her from jabbing him again by winding an arm around her shoulders and pulling her in close to his side. "Alright, there was no submission. Mutual respect then?"

Cleo smiled and allowed him to tuck her under his shoulder. "Yeah. Mutual respect."


End file.
